But in my poorly contrived sentence I cannot begin to emulate Will Shakespeare's brilliance. His memorable dialogue stops me in my tracks. The speech by Marcellus in the first scene as he speaks about Pompey and berates the citizens who want to honour Caesar. I have to bite my tongue and stop my fingers. I want to copy the whole speech. But I'll sneak in a tiny bit from the speech. "Many a time and oft, Have you climb'd up to walls and battlements, To tow'rs and windows, yea to chimney-tops, Your infants in your arms, and there have sat the livelong day, with patient expetation, To see great Pompey pass the streets of Rome..." Part of Shakepeare's brilliance was the way he set up his plays. Like willing slaves we are hooked and follow whereof he leads.
"Cry havoc, and let slip the dogs of war." So spoke Mark Anthony. So many brilliant speeches and so much to relish as I read the play. "Friends, Romans, Countrymen, lend me your ears. I come to bury Caesar not to praise him..." The words roll like warm honey off my tongue. Yes, I do read them aloud
I must cease and desist blogging but not without drawing your attention to my historical romance, A Very Difficult Man. He'd been wounded on the battlefield during the Crimean War and returned home to England a bitter and disillusioned man. He could not forgive the generals whose stupidity had sent hundreds of men to their deaths when the Light Brigade was ordered to attack the Russian guns. During the ensuing slaughter my fictional hero, Richard, Lord Glenmore, himself badly wounded, dragged a young trooper to safety before collapsing from loss of blood. My book has had excellent reviews. Read an excerpt on my web site. www.anitabirt.com
I hope I have amused you just a little. Enjoy the week-end and for the Irish among you, Happy St. Patrick's Day, on Monday, March 17th.Anita
1 comment:
God, yes! I agree with every word! I, too, can get drunk on words - Shakespeare, John Donne, Homer, the Bible - even though I'm not a Christian, some of the language in the King James translation is just majestic and *needs* to be read aloud.
In fact, I've found that's a good way to check the rhythms of my own writing. If the passage sounds right, then it will read right.
On the reading and writing front, I have just finbished 'Isabelle's Diary', and I loved it! Years ago I lived in Wales for a couple of years, and this book brought back the memories and images of that time. The characters are beautifully drawn, I really felt for them and *wanted* them to work it all out and get together!
Thanks for a great read, Anita!
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